I Will Become a Phoenix More Noble Than the Emperor - Chapter 43

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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43.

Sa-baek, whose face was completely different from what he had shown in front of Seon-o, quietly fell into thought as he gazed at the blood splattered on his mask.

The sensation of ‘blood rift’ seeping in still seemed to linger ticklishly at his fingertips.

He was one born with the mission to eliminate this blood rift with Yang Power and protect the world.

However, that mission was only half-complete. Sa-baek had been waiting all along for someone who could fill this unfillable emptiness. And heaven helped him by opening the Phoenix Competition during the era of his existence. The Phoenix born from that competition would lead his powerless mission.

And now the second trial of that Phoenix Competition was in progress.

He wondered if his ‘Master’ would truly pass through the second trial and return. Sa-baek was watching all the candidates, but among them, his interest in Seon-o was becoming increasingly special.

Witnessing Seon-o’s awakening at Bujin Pavilion now seemed like destiny when he thought about it. More intense than the question of how she knew that stabbing her own heart would lead to awakening was the image of Seon-o plunging the blade into her heart without a moment’s hesitation.

The faint pleasure he had felt when that woman appeared as a candidate for the Phoenix Competition still seemed to linger at the back of his throat.

However, Seon-o still had many things to overcome. She would probably have to break through the suspicions of the Prime Gods targeting her, and she would also have to overcome the formidable trials and interference from hidden enemies.

And also…

“…”

Myself as well.

An unknowable gentle smile appeared on Sa-baek’s lips as he thought of Seon-o.

* * *

Seon-o stood on the steep cliff and gazed intently down below.

Finally, it was Myo-myo Lake.

“…”

The lake below the cliff was not particularly vast, but it was so unfathomably deep that its depths could not be seen. Looking at the water that was frighteningly blue at first glance, Seon-o gauged the quiet surroundings.

Myo-myo Lake was indeed a place where Yin Energy could be felt on one’s skin, living up to its reputation. It was also a place teeming with demons trying to feed on that Yin Energy.

But now, not even a single ant could be seen around the lake. Knowing the reason, Seon-o took out the red Yin Stone that she had carefully hidden in her bosom.

Seon-o stared intently at the still smooth and round Yin Stone, then put it in her mouth. Carefully ensuring the Yin Stone wouldn’t go down her throat, Seon-o closed her mouth tightly and without hesitation—

“!”

Threw her body forward.

Splash—.

The sound of her accelerated body piercing through the water surface and plummeting echoed.

As her water-soaked body sank below the surface, Seon-o’s eyes contorted painfully.

‘It’s freezing cold!’

The lake water that instantly engulfed her entire body was cold enough to give her goosebumps. But that was all.

She wasn’t suffocating or feeling stuffy.

Seon-o realized that she was truly breathing underwater. It wasn’t as free and light as breathing outside water, but she could inhale air, albeit heavily. Water droplets were leaking from Seon-o’s ears, acting as gills.

It was indeed a success!

All of this was thanks to the Yin Stone in her mouth. This Yin Stone was what had been attached to the Golden Salamander’s stomach, granting it special abilities and allowing Seon-o, a human, to breathe underwater.

Only a few people knew the true identity of this special Yin Stone, and they called it this:

‘Rift Sound Stone.’

Rift Sound Stones referred to the Yin Stones that had fallen from the first blood rift when it was created in this world.

Some demons had swallowed those Yin Stones containing strange Yin Power in one gulp and gained mysterious sorcery like the Golden Salamander, using it to damage this world.

The Yin Stone eaten by the Golden Salamander was one that had fallen into Cheongpa River and contained Water Element, so just holding it in one’s mouth like this could grant the power to survive underwater for some time.

‘But I was told not to swallow it. They said there’s no telling what side effects might follow if a human rather than a demon ate it.’

In the original story, On Gang, who had been dropped into Cheongpa River due to a Ghost Carriage malfunction, overheard the conversation of Cheongpa River demons and learned all of this, then infiltrated those guys’ fortress to obtain this Yin Stone.

And with it, he came to Myo-myo Lake to eliminate the Leader Demon said to be hiding in the lake, but—.

‘What was hiding in the lake wasn’t a Leader Demon.’

Seon-o snapped to attention and waved her hands, swimming down below the dark water surface.

When she reached the bottom and looked around, a dark hole came into Seon-o’s view and her eyes lit up.

‘Blood rift!’

What was hiding in Myo-myo Lake was a small blood rift.

Unusually, it was a blood rift that spewed out only dense Yin Energy rather than demons.

That Yin Energy mixed with the mysterious water of Myo-myo Lake was generating Yin Energy so potent that just touching it would increase one’s Yin Power. Seon-o approached that area and put her hand in her pants pocket, fumbling for the seed she had placed in the double-sewn inner pocket.

Even with the Yin Stone in her mouth, she could feel her breathing gradually becoming irregular, so Seon-o’s movements became urgent. Finally finding and pulling out the seed, Seon-o brought it close to the blood rift and held her breath.

In that fleeting moment, Seon-o’s eyes sharpened as he felt the seed clutched in his grasp begin to stir.

And it happened in an instant. In the blink of an eye, the seed cracked open and a green sprout emerged from within.

‘I did it!’

Seon-o forced a smile, suppressing the urge to scream with joy.

With this, he had passed the second trial!

But before he could savor that moment of triumph, someone violently grabbed his arm.

“?!”

Startled, Seon-o turned around to see Cheong-eum’s face, hardened with a grave expression.

‘…Seol Cheong-eum?’

As his hand—which shouldn’t have been there—pulled Seon-o upward with all its strength, the shocked Seon-o accidentally swallowed the Yin Stone he had been holding in his mouth.

‘…Ah?’

As bewildered confusion flooded his suddenly empty mouth, Seon-o’s body shot upward at a frightening speed, and in an instant, both of them burst above the water surface.

Seon-o and Cheong-eum’s heads bobbed up above the blue surface of Myo-myo Lake.

“Haah…”

Cheong-eum exhaled the breath he had been holding and gripped Seon-o’s arm tightly, as if worried she might plunge her head back underwater.

However, Seon-o had no intention of going back into the water. There was no reason to, and something so shocking had happened that he couldn’t think of anything else.

The seed, which had successfully germinated thanks to being unconsciously gripped tightly, was still clutched in his hand, but the Yin Stone that had already gone down his throat had disappeared without a trace.

“…”

As Seon-o stared blankly at Cheong-eum, unable to grasp the situation, he looked back at Seon-o with a cold expression.

His dazzling silver hair hung down, soaked through with lake water. Cheong-eum’s beautiful face, wet with water, presented an enchanting sight as if a mystical mermaid from legend had appeared before his eyes, but Seon-o had no luxury left to feel such extravagant sensations.

“Have you lost your mind?”

His voice was incomparably colder than the lake water. Only then did Seon-o realize that Cheong-eum was misunderstanding the situation. He seemed to have mistaken Seon-o’s fall into Myo-myo Lake as an attempt at suicide.

So in the end, Cheong-eum had saved Seon-o from drowning.

But there was something more important than that.

“Why is the High Priest here…”

Wait.

…Don’t tell me.

“…Did the High Priest also follow me because you suspect me?”

At that, Cheong-eum, who had been fiercely cold, clamped his mouth shut. At his reaction, an incredulous laugh escaped from Seon-o’s lips.

“Haha…hahahaha…”

As Seon-o giggled as if he had lost his mind, Cheong-eum’s brow furrowed slightly. Ignoring this, Seon-o continued his absurd laughter before abruptly stopping and muttering.

“This is maddening.”

So that made three Super-Deities confirmed to be suspicious of him. Perhaps the remaining four were also watching him with suspicion from somewhere.

That precarious suspicion had finally caused trouble.

Finally exploding, Seon-o looked at Cheong-eum and instead grinned wickedly.

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This chapter was translated by Lunox Team. To support us and help keep this series going, visit our website: LunoxScans.com
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